A Word Of Advice

Monday, 7 July 2014

As all famous cities are mid Summer, Venice is a gaggle of
tourists and tacky souvenirs. So if you’re not into group tours of more than 50
people following around a red umbrella raised above some unenthusiastic man's
head (I have no idea why people find this an exciting prospect) then don’t
follow the crowd, discover the real Venice.

Myth busting- Venice is expensive, smells of sewage, and is
full of sleezy Italian men. Walk the
tourist route and yes you’ll pay twenty quid for a microwave pizza, get a few stenchy
whiffs, and those risqué shorts and strappy top will attract a good few
romantic invitations. So opt for a local haunt, avoid the dustbins, try to avoid the school holidays... maybe go in
Winter and wrap up warm. A year of living in the sinking city and you realise
that if you dress and act like a tourist then you’ll get the tourist
experience, but don some jeans, trainers, and an unstylish purple shiny
puffer jacket and the locals welcome you as one of their own.

Drenched in rich culture and history, Venice is architecturally
inspiring and atmospheric. After a wander around St Mark’s square and a vaporetto
ride at sunset you’ll realise that it’s more fairy-tale than the Magic Kingdom.

Begin the day early with a visit to a coffee and pastry
shop. Tonolo, a local favourite hidden away by the university in Dorsoduro,
serves fantastic coffee, miniature cakes and pastries which are so popular they
often sell out by mid morning.

Beat the hoard of tourists spilling off the cruise ships by
getting to St Mark’s basilica as early as possible, ideally 9am at the latest.Soak in the beauty and opulent design of the city’s
most famous church. If you have time, go to the top of the bell tower opposite
for spectacular views over Venice.

Hop on a vaporetto (waterbus) to Ca’ Rezzonico and choose
one of the local eateries to get a platter of ham and cheese accompanied by a
glass of wine (don’t worry, drinking wine before midday is totally encouraged!)

Grab a gelato from the best ice cream shop in existence,
Grom. You will have walked past it not long after you got off the vaporetto.
Take full advantage of the free tasters while deciding your flavours. Enjoy
this in the bustling square of Campo Santa Margherita which is an ideal spot to
people watch.

Unless there is a particular gallery you want to see or if
you’re feeling flush and fancy a cheeky gondola ride, I would spend the rest of
the afternoon wandering around the streets taking photos, getting lost and
indulging in a few more drinks. Maybe stop for a few cicchetti (snacks),or try a Mozzarella in Carrozza (fried Mozzarella
sandwich) unless you’re on a diet!

Jump on a vaporetto (waterbus) to Rialto bridge and take a
snap of this must see bridge in its daytime madness.

You will have noticed everyone sipping on a fluorescent orange
beverage... this is not lucozade. If you haven’t already had the pleasure, I
introduce you to Spritz- sparkling white wine or wine and soda, with aperol (or
campari if you have no tastebuds). Have one at Muro bar by Rialto bridge.

Find another local eatery and order a pizza. (Send me a
message if you want a few recommendations) Wherever you end up, just make sure you
don’t get a tourist menu as they are always poorer quality!

Got longer than a day? Try these too...

The small islands of Murano (famous for its glass) and
Burano (famous for its lace and brightly coloured houses). Great for
photographers and beautiful at sunset .

Lido beach. A great place to get away from the hype with a
bottle of Fragolino.

Saturday, 14 June 2014

As we get older, getting what we want becomes increasingly less frequent. This is probably due to the fact that our wants have upgraded somewhat from 'I want an ice creeaaam!' to 'I want to win the lottery'. Our wants grow bigger as we grow up..

But how do we know if what we want is achievable; are we just chasing dreams or is there a chance that we can make them come true? Unfortunately a date with Ryan Gosling or Sienna Miller is highly improbable no matter how much you tweet them, but a date with that cute barista at your local coffee shop, or that (can you be more than my) friend .. Why not?

Actually, lottery winning aside, plenty of our desires are achievable, but a lot of the time we are too scared to put ourselves out there and take the risk. Far too often we limit ourselves with the fear of failure and rejection. But fear is what makes things exciting (Hi I'm Laura and I'm a thrill seeker)! Don't be restricted by it, be empowered by it. You want a date.. Ask. You want a pay rise because you know you work twice as hard as that lazy cow in the office.. Ask. And if at first you get shot down, put on a bullet proof vest and try again. Just because you didn't get what you wanted the first time around doesn't mean you'll never get it.

Embrace your inner child: when you were six and you wanted to go to the park you would ask (aka 'pester') your begrudging parents if they would take you, knowing full well they would say no. You weren't afraid of failure, or the rollocking you would get off your mum, you kept badgering on, hopeful that there was a chance (all be it a small one) that they would cave in and you would get what you wanted (take off those rose tinted spectacles, I wasn't the only demanding child).

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't be afraid to fight for what you want, embrace fear and accept that yes, rejection and failure is a fact of life, but 'feel the fear and do it anyway' (one of my mum's most memorable mottos).

...and on the theme of lottery winning; remember you can never win the jackpot unless you play the game!

Saturday, 10 May 2014

There are the classic fears of spiders, heights, and enclosed
spaces. The obscure and ridiculous ones such as a fear of socks, cotton wool or
losing phone signal (nomophobia is a genuine a phobia...I told you there are
some ridiculous ones). Worst of all are the subconscious ones which creep up on
you in your sleep and terrify you as nightmares. Whether you’re a hard nut who laughs in the
face of danger, or a massive hypochondriac who squeals when someone puts
mushrooms in their meal (like my fella), we’ve all got a fear.

Two years ago my biggest fears were spiders and heights. I
had vivid nightmares about being on the top floor of a shopping centre and
there being no railings to stop me tripping and falling off the side. I would pelt
out a horror film scream if even a tiny money spider crawled past me. With this in mind, my decision to go to Australia,
a country famous for its deadly spiders and dramatic cliffs and gorges, may
have seemed a little absurd. Yet determined not to let my fears control me, I
booked my one way flight and prayed for the best (no point in wasting money on
a return flight if I may not survive!).

It was very early morning when I arrived, but my spider
sensor kept me exceptionally alert. It began with checking the bus seat before
I sat down, and quickly escalated to insisting the windows be kept shut in the
hostel room despite it being a sweltering 38 degrees (obviously spiders can
only get in via windows and doors). As you may expect, I wasn’t the most
popular person in the hostel. On my first night in Oz I managed a meager 3
hours of sleep, and that was just because my boyfriend lied and told me that he
would keep watch to make sure no spiders crawled into my mouth while I was
sleeping. The ‘every person eats an average of 7 spiders in their lifetime’
fact becomes slightly more petrifying when you’re surrounded by red back and
funnel web arachnids (aka the killers!).

Yet somehow, amid showering with my poisonous eight legged friends and
trekking to gigantic gorges and waterfalls in the Kimberley, I overcame my
fears. The stupidity of having to be surrounded by an infestation of truly
deadly spiders to finally overcome my fear of them makes no sense to me, but it
worked. I now have two well fed daddy long leg spiders living above my front
door, and rather than squash them, I leave them there to eat all of the pesky flies, and to remind me not to let fear stop me from doing
anything. Give it a go; climb to the top of a tall building and peer off the
edge, dare yourself to take the lift, let a spider crawl across your hand
(maybe not a poisonous one though), and I bet you’ll feel proud afterwards. Take control and conquer your fears!